Cinderella is Evil by Jamie Campbell

Cinderella is Evil (The Fairy Tales Retold Series)  (currently free on Kindle)

Cinderella is Evil is a re-telling of Cinderella where Cinderella is not actually evil.

I liked the story but didn't fall madly in love with it.  It turns the entire Cinderella story into a series of misunderstandings amongst a family still grieving the loss of their father/step-father/husband.   It does keep the general theme of the king hosts a dance to find his son a wife.  The prince does find a woman then loses her, the only clue to her identity being a slipper.

This version is told from the perspective of one of Cinderella's step-sisters.  A step-sister who has always felt ugly and unnoticed leaving her to envy Cinderella, even as she does love her.

I'm not sure what could have moved this book from okay to great.  Maybe if it were longer (this is a novella) and more refined.  I was waiting for someone to actually be evil.  For drama that didn't seem forced.

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

 I'll be honest, I got this audiobook simply out of curiosity.  Before I had ever seen Glee, I did see Chris Colfer in an interview.   That made me decide I'd give that Glee show a chance.  I also liked the Struck by Lightning movie (haven't read that book).

In the end I had to just give it a down the middle kind of score.  He wins with the concept (a brother and sister discover they are connected to and have access to a fairytale land).  The writing and overall execution though, not so hot.

Perhaps because I was listening to this book as opposed to reading it, I notice little things that bugged me a lot.  #1 being that I am sure the word "said" would show up more in a word count that most any other word. No big deal, right?  People have to have said things.  But without quoting the book let's say the two main characters were alone in a room discussing getting burgers for dinner (didn't happen, just sayin'):
"Burgers?" Asked Alex
"I like burgers" said Connor
"Yes," said Alex "you do."
"You like burgers too." said Connor.

You get the idea.  Paragraphs worth of awkwardly written he said, she said, they said...

Even for a childrens or YA book, it just reads too young.

Still, as I said, the story itself isn't bad.  It's a really good concept.  If he tweaks his writing style some, he could have a future in books.  Right now it's just really not refined enough for a higher rating than 3/5.

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales

Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales

I averaged this book out at about a solid 3.  That, to me, is a respectable rating for a anthology.  Too often collections such as this include one story that you really like and the rest are bombs.  This one is chalk full of princesses, trolls, castles, adventures, and misadventures.  Like most anthologies, I wasn’t madly in love with every story.  I’d rate Castle of Masks (The story of a beast who demands the company of the local maidens) and Flight (the story of a princess who is put to the test thanks to her aunt)  the highest.  Many of the stories are written in true classic fairy tale style while a few others are a little more abstract while still honoring the stories that inspired them.  Here’s my individual ratings (the 2s were not badly written, they just weren’t my thing)  -

The Coin of the Heart’s Desire by Yoon Ha Lee -   4/5 stars

The Lenten Rose by Genevieve Valentine -   3/5 stars

The Spinning Wheel’s Tale by Jane Yolen -  3/5 Stars 

Below the Sun Beneath by Tanith Lee -  3/5 Stars.

Warrior Dreams by Cinda Williams Chima -  There’s a monster in the lake. 3/5

Born and Bread by Kaaron Warren - 3/5 stars

Tales that Fairies Tell by Richard Bowes - 3/5

Sleeping Beauty of Elista by Ekaterina Sedia - 4/5

The Road to Needles by Caitlín R. Kiernan - 2/5

Lupine by Nisi Shawl - 4/5

Flight by Angela Slatter- 5/5

Egg by Priya Sharma - 4/5

Castle of Masks by Cory Skerry - 5/5

The Giant in Repose  by Nathan Ballingrud - 3/5

The Hush of the Feathers by A.C. Wise -  2/5

Eat me, Drink Me, Love me by Christopher Barzak - 3/5

The Mirror Tells All by Erzebet YellowBoy - 2/5

Blanchefleur by Theodora Goss - 4/5

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Wildwood Dancing

Wildwood Dancing By Juliet Marillier

Every full moon Jena, her frog, and her sisters all use a portal to enter the other kingdom. They spend the evening dancing with magical beings. Life was good. 

Then their father becomes ill and leaves home to recover. He trusts Jena to run the family business but she is a girl and so a cousin, Cezar, will help her. Cezar cannot help but remind Jena that if she or one of her sisters fails to provide a male heir he may just be taking over her family, since her father is very ill, ill enough to he might not make it home and therefore Cezar would be the next in line to be the man in charge. Jena cannot stand this thought but Cezar's hints and flat out bully attempts to run her home have come at a time when Jena’s sister has fallen for a young man in the Other Kingdom who she should not have fallen for. Sure, the fact that he is in the Other Kingdom and therefore only seen by them during the full moon is an issue, but it is worse than that -- he is visiting the Other Kingdom with the Night People, a mysterious group with a horrid reputation for toying with people -- ruining lives even. It’s a lot for Jenna to take on, essentially alone, only her best friend / Frog Gogu can truly help her and she’s not sure that a frog is of much help, no matter how much she loves him. Jenna does send letters to her father but she’s unsure that he is getting them and she cannot bring herself to tell him just how bad things have gotten as she’d not want to further affect his health. How to save her sister and her home?

Overall this an amazing story borrowing classic fairy-tale and gothic horror elements and weaving them into a unique story all its own. The only reason I cannot give it five stars is that it foes seem a wee bit repetitive at time, it drags on at others, and then finally is just rushed here and there. Were it a little more balanced, it’d be perfect.